Seemingly nothing brings out the stormy side of Mother Nature more than the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which returns for its 68th year starting with practice rounds Monday at Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course.

Tournament play for the 156 professionals and their amateur partners begins the first of four rounds and 72 holes Thursday.

The rainfall during the AT&T of recent years may not be quite as fierce as the storms that dumped 26 days of rain on the Monterey Peninsula area in January 1995, washed the tourney out completely in 1996 and pushed back the third round of the 1998 event by six months. But rain has almost always been a constant companion of this event, for better or worse.

The 2009 AT&T had its last round washed out, in 2010 rain early in the week allowed for lift-and-play the last three rounds, in 2012 showers fell Friday and Saturday and last year it rained Thursday and Friday.

Rain has been such a big part of this tournament that it’s even been given a name — “Crosby weather” — a tribute of sorts to the old crooner himself who started everything with his clambake back in 1947.

“But we wouldn’t mind one more week (of good weather),” said Amanda Evans.

Of course, she has her reasons.

Evans is director of marketing of the AT&T, and good weather usually means anything from good to record-breaking crowds.

Last year’s attendance, according to Evans, was 130,000.

“And this year’s tickets sales are looking good,” she said.

So is the weather, even if a few drops fell Thursday morning. It may not be a sign of things to come. According to the National Weather Service, the forecast for Monterey County calls for partly cloudy to mostly sunny Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

A golf tournament may never be mistaken for a theme park, but the AT&T is close to becoming a video arcade for golf-loving techies.

The Fan Zone truck at the entrance to Pebble Beach Golf Links offers interactive products and services, and the Chevron Science, Technology, Engineering and Math — STEM Zone — is geared for kids of all ages and provides an opportunity to show how science and math play a role in the game of golf.

The AT&T has become so fan-friendly that although it once was a place where cell phones were banned, now there are charging stations on all three courses.

“As long as you act responsible, you’re fine,” Evans said. “We don’t want people texting at the rope line and the marshals (clad in white knickers, plaid socks and red jackets) have been trained to remind people to put their phones on silent.”

There is a bag and backpack policy and it can be found on the AT&T website (attpbgolf.com/spectators/policies).

Celebrity event

The action on the fairways begins Monday with the first of three days of practice.

The two big attractions of the pre-tourney festivities are Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. when the Chevron Shoot-Out pits the 49ers against the Giants in a frolicking five-hole duel followed Wednesday by the 3M Celebrity Challenge at 11 a.m.

Both events will be played over holes No. 1, 2, 3, 17 and 18 — the famed “Whiskey route” — at Pebble Beach.

This is the fourth year of Giants versus 49ers, and it’s been a big draw every time, helped by the roaring success of both teams.

It began by happenstance three months after the Giants won the 2010 World Series. Since then the 49ers have reached the NFC championship game the past three years and the Super Bowl once while the Giants won another World Series in 2012.

Representing the Giants will be returnees Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong along with first-timers reliever Javier Lopez and retired first baseman, J.T. Snow.

Brett Jones and Dwight Clark have confirmed with the 49ers, with others to be announced.

New to the celebrity field of the AT&T is Kid Rock; actor Kurt Russell is making just his second showing. They’ll be in a field along with Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, hockey hall of famer Wayne Gretzky, former Florida governor Jeb Bush along with Monterey’s own Herm Edwards.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and his quarterback, Tom Brady, are also in the field.

Bill Murray, typically the most followed celebrity in the AT&T tourney, will be MIA this year. He’s on location filming a movie.

Pro field

There will be at least six former AT&T champions in the field this year and none of them are named Tiger Woods.

Woods won here in 2000, then had a romp around the Pebble Beach course during the U.S. Open of that year — his 15-stroke win was the most dominating performance of any major championship — but he has been back to the AT&T only once in the past 10 years. He popped in in 2012, tied for 15th, and hasn’t been seen here since.

Defending champion Brandt Snedeker (267) will try to become the fifth back-to-back winner of the AT&T. And to do so he’ll have to beat out former champions Phil Mickelson (2012, 2007, 2005, 1998), Dustin Johnson (2010, 2009), Vijay Singh (2004), Davis Love III (2001) and D.A. Points (2011).

Snedeker, 34, got off to a blazing start last year. He had three Top 3 finishes in his first four events, highlighted by the AT&T victory.

“It’s just hard to put it into words, to have a stretch of golf like I had the last couple of months,” he said after his AT&T triumph. “It’s something you dream about; something you think you can do, but you don’t really know until you actually put it together, and I have.”

He went on to have nine Top 10 finishes last year, 13 Top 25 finishes and more than $5 million in earnings.

Snedeker made the cut in three of his first four events this year. His best showing is a tie for 11th in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Winners of three of the first four tournaments on the 2014 PGA Tour will also be at Pebble Beach — Sony Open champion Jimmy Walker, Humana Challenge winner Patrick Reed and Farmers Insurance Open victor Scott Stallings.

Also here is the 2013 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Jordan Spieth.

We have a winner

Sure, the tournament doesn’t start until Thursday, but the first AT&T winners were announced about three weeks ago. Orlando Sanchez of Alisal High and Edi Ellison of Carmel High were winners of the 3M Scholarship Essay Contest, held in conjunction with the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

The essays were judged best in the county by the Monterey Peninsula College English Department. The theme was, “What suggestions do you have to improve the education system in the United States for future students?”

They each won a $3,500 scholarship and each school received a $9,000 grant to be used for scholarships to college-bound students.

In addition, Sanchez and Ellison will be standard bearers at Wednesday’s 3M Celebrity Challenge.

Also, the AT&T has chosen the Boys and Girls Club of Monterey County to be the featured charity of this year’s tournament. The organization will be part of a commercial that will run nationally during coverage of the event and include video segments shot at the Seaside clubhouse. It can be seen Friday on the Golf Channel and Sunday on CBS.

The Monterey Peninsula Foundation, which recommended the Boys and Girls Club as the chief charity, has raised more than $110 million for charity since the tourney began in 1937.

Leave the

driving to us

There are shuttles leaving from just about every city on the Peninsula — call the respective chambers of commerce for times and rates — but the most heavily used shuttle service is located at California State University, Monterey Bay. Just follow the signs along Highway 1 or Imjin Road. This year buses will be running Monday through Sunday (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.), rather than Wednesday through Saturday.

In the past spectators could drive into the Pebble Beach area on Monday and Tuesday, but due to increased construction that will not be allowed this year.

The shuttle service to and from CSUMB is free.

AT&T guide

• Tickets:

Practice rounds — $25 for the first 100 sold, $50 on Saturday, $60 starting Sunday. Tickets good for all three days of practice rounds; tournament rounds — $60. Can be purchased at any of three courses or online at attpbgolf.com.